The symbolism of the signs from different perspectives
The 12-signed zodiac was conceived in the Northern Hemisphere and can be seen symbolically as a representation of nature’s seasonal cycle from that perspective.
The Cardinal signs Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn each begin at the four seasonal turning points according to the Tropical zodiac, so they are associated with new beginnings, initiative, and a change of direction.
Astrologically, 0º Aries marks the vernal or spring equinox (Sun moving upward over the equator), the summer solstice (Sun at its highest point over the Tropic of Cancer) is at 0º Cancer, 0º Libra begins at the autumnal equinox (Sun moving downward across the equator), and 0º Capricorn marks the winter solstice (Sun at its lowest point over the Tropic of Capricorn).
The Fixed signs Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius symbolise the persistent, constant, or stable phase of the season they represent, so they symbolise these qualities.
The Mutable or Dual signs Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces mark the changeover from one season to the next, so they symbolise instability and changeability.
However, this seasonal symbolism is difficult to apply to the Sidereal zodiac or the True Sky zodiac because those are based on the constellations rather than the annual cycle of our Sun, so the Sun’s ingress into each sign does not line up with the traditional seasonal markers. The two ways of describing the sky overlapped many centuries ago but are no longer aligned due to the precession of the equinoxes. The Sidereal zodiac is currently about 24 degrees behind the Tropical zodiac as a result, so 0º Tropical Aries is about 6º Sidereal Pisces, and this difference increases by one degree every 72 years.
The seasonal description of the zodiac can’t really be applied in the Southern Hemisphere either, because the seasons are inverted!
So we shouldn’t lean too heavily on the seasonal metaphor as a description of the zodiac signs, even though it provides a wonderfully poetic way of understanding them.
In modern times, another way of seeing the progression of signs from Aries through Pisces is as a sequence of twelve personality archetypes developing through human psychological and social stages. This emphasis emerged in the past century as the study of psychology and archetypes grew and was popularised by notable astrology enthusiast Carl G. Jung and his students.
While these common ways of seeing the signs are helpful, there is an internal logic to the 12 signs of the zodiac that aligns with the inherent harmony of the cosmos. In fact, in Greek, κόσμος (kósmos) can mean “order, good order, orderly arrangement,” and refers to the universe as an orderly or systematic whole. The ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras (570 BCE – 495 BCE) is credited with first using the word cosmos to mean “world order” or “universe.”